After a three-month closure from January 1st, the Bank of England Museum will reopen with Curiosities From The Vaults, for which the museum will bring some of their rarer items out from the archive. These include disparate items that have never or very rarely seen the light of day and include Lawrence of Arabia's camel sandbags, which were used to carry gold across the Arabian desert; a wooden secret ballot box made by Sir John Soane, the Bank's architect, and used for years in countless meetings in the Court Room at the Threadneedle Street building; early sketches, printing plates and test prints for banknotes; and visitors books, carrying the signatures of dozens of notable visitors from all walks of life and countries who visited the Bank of England since its inception in the seventeenth-century.

Sorry, no free samples here but you can get your hands on a real gold bar. Housed within the Bank of England, the Bank of England Museum traces the history of the bank from its foundation by Royal Charter in 1694 to its role today as the nation's central bank. More about Bank of England Museum

Further articles featuring Curiosities From The Vaults on LondonTown.com

Plan the perfect year in the capital with our pick of the best events in London 2018. From January through to December, every month boasts an impressive line-up of entertainment. So, take a look at our guide and be sure not to miss a thing.

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